The Impact of Hong Kong Protests on the Aviation Industry

Abstract

The desire to travel and the decision making regarding this has always been affected by various factors, with safety always being consistently stated as being a top concern whilst planning a trip. This can be seen as the perceived risk of the travellers towards their travel destination, such that the higher the perceived risk, the less likely they will be travelling to that destination. Hong Kong has been a popular tourist destination, as well as a financial centre that has extensive global business connections. Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) facilitates air travel through providing an extensive connection network, with the geographical advantage of situating at the heart of Asia. However, given the ongoing social unrest in Hong Kong, where protests have escalated into violent clashes between demonstrators and the police, it is uncertain how the state as a global aviation and transfer hub will be impacted. Through comparative and descriptive analysis, the impact of Hong Kong’s protests on the aviation industry is illustrated by the change in visitor numbers to, the operational statistics of HKIA and Cathay Pacific, as well as actions taken by other international airlines regarding to the situation happening there. It has been found that, while the demand for air travel has dropped and the airline has suffered from revenue loss, the operational statistics of HKIA have followed the historical trend despite the ongoing unrest.